Overview
- 50Hertz confirmed on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, that it has awarded a roughly €2.5 billion turnkey contract to a Siemens Energy–Neptun Smulders consortium to build the North Sea Connector 2 offshore converter platform and its land converter.
- The system is a 2‑gigawatt standard converter to be sited about 200 km west of Sylt with the land converter at a new substation near Mühlenbeck; 50Hertz plans production in Rostock from 2028 and an in‑service target of end‑2034.
- Work is split by specialty: Neptun (Topside) will fabricate the platform superstructure in Rostock, Smulders will make the steel jacket in the Netherlands, and Siemens Energy will supply transformers, switchgear, converters and a long‑term service contract.
- The award is presented as a major lifeline for the state‑supported Meyer/Neptun group and could create more than 500 long‑term jobs in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern while drawing praise from regional and federal leaders.
- The deal marks a re‑shoring of high‑value offshore converter manufacturing to Germany, but full delivery and wider roll‑out depend on future wind‑park auctions, developer commitments and the outcome of negotiations over a second, identical contract.